One of the most confusing things about photography for amateurs and beginners is the abundance of technical terms. Read on for explanations of some of the most common and useful terms.
ISO
Technically, this stands for "International Standards Organization" but that isn't the definition we are looking for. For us, ISO stands for a sensor on a digital camera that determines how sensitive to light the sensor is. There are cameras that can range in sensitivity from ISO 50 to ISO 3200 or higher, doubling each time. A camera with a low ISO value means the sensor is less sensitive to light. This allows for taking pictures in low light more problematic, but gives the picture a higher quality in return. The higher ISO value means taking photos in low light is easier, however the drawback is your photos are subject to digital 'noise' or random dots of color found mostly in the darkest areas of the photo. Unfortunately, this will limit the size of which the photo can be printed.
Note that in Automatic mode, your camera will choose what ISO to use by itself. It will generally choose a low ISO wherever there is sufficient light.
Zoom Range
This term refers to how wide and how 'zoomed in' a photo you can shoot. Typically, when you turn on a camera, it will be set at the widest zoom as a default setting. By using the controls, you can zoom in on something that is small or far away in order to have it fill the frame.
Zoom range is quoted either in 35mm terms (i.e. 35-175mm), or in a multiple (i.e. 5x), where the widest settings times the multiple is the longest setting (for example, 5 x 35 = 155).
Most compact point-and-shoot cameras have a zoom range that starts in the 28-35mm range and zooms in about 4x or 5x. If you can, select a camera with as wide a wide setting as possible (usually 28mm, though cameras with wider wide settings are available), as this will be very useful when shooting indoors where you cant just take a step backwards in order to get it all in.
Megapixel
Digital photos are made up of many tiny dots, just like the display on your home computer. A megapixel is a million of these tiny dots. A photo made up of more pixels is said to be of higher resolution than one made up of less pixels.
When people talk about a camera with a certain number of megapixels, this refers to the maximum number of pixels that a photo taken with this camera can contain. A higher megapixel camera will allow the user to take photos comprised of more pixels than a lower megapixel camera.
Photos comprised of more pixels are finer grained than those with less, and this means that they can be printed or viewed at larger sizes and from closer distances with no noticeable drop in quality. This makes high megapixel cameras useful, but be aware that a 6 megapixel camera would be more than sufficient for 99% of casual users. Camera manufacturers will try to make you believe that you need more, but this just isnt the case unless you want to make really large enlargements.
ISO
Technically, this stands for "International Standards Organization" but that isn't the definition we are looking for. For us, ISO stands for a sensor on a digital camera that determines how sensitive to light the sensor is. There are cameras that can range in sensitivity from ISO 50 to ISO 3200 or higher, doubling each time. A camera with a low ISO value means the sensor is less sensitive to light. This allows for taking pictures in low light more problematic, but gives the picture a higher quality in return. The higher ISO value means taking photos in low light is easier, however the drawback is your photos are subject to digital 'noise' or random dots of color found mostly in the darkest areas of the photo. Unfortunately, this will limit the size of which the photo can be printed.
Note that in Automatic mode, your camera will choose what ISO to use by itself. It will generally choose a low ISO wherever there is sufficient light.
Zoom Range
This term refers to how wide and how 'zoomed in' a photo you can shoot. Typically, when you turn on a camera, it will be set at the widest zoom as a default setting. By using the controls, you can zoom in on something that is small or far away in order to have it fill the frame.
Zoom range is quoted either in 35mm terms (i.e. 35-175mm), or in a multiple (i.e. 5x), where the widest settings times the multiple is the longest setting (for example, 5 x 35 = 155).
Most compact point-and-shoot cameras have a zoom range that starts in the 28-35mm range and zooms in about 4x or 5x. If you can, select a camera with as wide a wide setting as possible (usually 28mm, though cameras with wider wide settings are available), as this will be very useful when shooting indoors where you cant just take a step backwards in order to get it all in.
Megapixel
Digital photos are made up of many tiny dots, just like the display on your home computer. A megapixel is a million of these tiny dots. A photo made up of more pixels is said to be of higher resolution than one made up of less pixels.
When people talk about a camera with a certain number of megapixels, this refers to the maximum number of pixels that a photo taken with this camera can contain. A higher megapixel camera will allow the user to take photos comprised of more pixels than a lower megapixel camera.
Photos comprised of more pixels are finer grained than those with less, and this means that they can be printed or viewed at larger sizes and from closer distances with no noticeable drop in quality. This makes high megapixel cameras useful, but be aware that a 6 megapixel camera would be more than sufficient for 99% of casual users. Camera manufacturers will try to make you believe that you need more, but this just isnt the case unless you want to make really large enlargements.
About the Author:
Tobias Sterling is a keen photography enthusiast who loves to share his photography knowledge. He provides and shares his knowledge about Depth of Field Photography Tips and Correct Exposures and Photography on Clivir.com.
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